The Impact of Doctor Who on British Culture

November 23rd is the 50th anniversary of the first Doctor Who episode. After that many years, Doctor Who has left a clear mark on British culture. In 2012, the word “Whovian” was added to the Oxford Dictionary. A Whovian is “a fan of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who” (Whovian). Conversely, words like Whovian are nowhere to be found in any American dictionary. Doctor Who has become so engrained in British society that it has changed the nations’ vocabulary. This being said, the future of Doctor Who has a significantly greater impact on the British than the Americans. As previously discussed, the truth behind David Tennant’s “Journey’s End” regeneration could potentially decide how much longer the show will be able to continue. As Time Lords are only able to regenerate 12 times, if David Tennant did in fact use up one of those regenerations, the show is one step closer to having to end than many realize. The British take the idea of this show ending, and therefore this issue, much more seriously than many Americans are able to realize.

As Joachim Frenk explains, Doctor Who has become “part of British everyday life and popular consciousness rather than merely fictional characters…it is considered essential family viewing and reaches viewing figures of 9.8 million, or 47 percent of the total television audience, for a single episode” (81). Lynette Porter, the author of books such as The Doctor Who Franchise as well as many others, writes about the difference in the American viewer and the British viewer in her article “’Doctor Who’ and the Cultural Divide: Fandom in America”. She explains how in America, fans tend to come together in small groups, excited they have finally found someone with whom they can share their excitement. In the UK, however, “you can just do that at work” (Porter). Even Brits who are would not consider themselves fans band together and watch the yearly Christmas episode. “It’s just part of what you do. The Christmas special is part of the culture” (Porter).

While American fans are going to be rather devastated when the inevitable end comes, it will not impact them as drastically in their everyday lives. Holidays are not affected by the shows existence, nor are most conversations. It is only the fans that will one day see a difference when the day comes.

While there is not a distinct “British view” on the matter of David Tennant’s
“Journey’s End” regeneration, one thing is for sure: the Brits take the future of Doctor Who very seriously. As David Tennant’s “Journey’s End” regeneration has a significant impact on show’s future, it is a highly controversial to the majority of British people, fans of the show or not.

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Works Cited:
Frenk, Joachim, and Christian Krug. The Cultures of James Bond. Trier: WVT, 2011. Print.
Porter, Lynette. "“Doctor Who” and the Cultural Divide: Fandom in America."Popmatters.com. PopMatters, 19 Jan. 2011. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. .
"Whovian". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 03 November 2013. .